Mother's Day!

It was very windy today! My top and my jeans are from the Red Label Collection at New York & Company. My shoes are by Restricted. My bag is by Arcadia.

My resident photographer is wearing a skirt and a cardigan by Aqua for Bloomingdale's, shoes my Madden Girl, a headband from Target, and a t shirt from J Crew.

Bohemian Dressing: My Thoughts

I recently finished reading Amanda Brooks' chapter on bohemian style. Obviously, I have a strong affinity towards the bohemian (Exhibit A: Aladdin Pants).

Bohemianism is the first style that I was ever personally interested in having anything to do with. Though I did not always have a proper understanding of how to pull off bohemian without looking like a demented Cher, I have always liked the idea of dressing like a hippie or a gypsy because, as Amanda Brooks states on page 81, "Bohemian style is laid-back, comfortable, and - most important - self-expressive. It is never, never about pouring yourself into the clothes that someone else thinks you should wear."

(Me in New Orleans, 2005 - this was one of my less cringe-inducing "hippie lite" looks)

Thanks to the success of Free People and Urban Outfitters, a lot of teenagers now dress like couture hippies and they are subversive only insofar as their parents' dislike the price tag that is associated with such brands. But all the way back in 2003, when I was first trying to figure out my personal style, dressing like someone who just walked out the King of Prussia mall's version of Woodstock was my tellingly safe way of sticking it to The Man (i.e. Abercrombie & Fitch). Back then, dressing like a bohemian was about non-conformism. After four years of college, I certainly no longer see bohemian style as rebellious and, thankfully, I've also realized that it's completely possible to incorporate bohemian elements into your wardrobe without looking like a complete Fashion Don't (not always the case when I was in high school).

(Me in New York, 2006 - sporting a very Boho look)

Though I have recently been trying to build my wardrobe with classic pieces, I will never be able to resist a romantic peasant top or a tunic in an interesting print. There are just some things that I will always, always love about bohemian style:

1. The Peasant Top
Amanda Brooks says: "The peasant blouse can take many shapes, usually defined by volume either in the sleeve or in the bodice, and is adorned with romantic and decorative details." (p. 85)

I say: I cannot resist a nice peasant top. Excuse my use of Audrina Partridge, she is completely noxious but I love the top she is wearing in this picture.

The popularity of peasant tops ebbs and flows but, if you like peasant tops (as I do), you will likely always be able to find one in a cut that jives with current standards of length and fit. It is one of my go-to wardrobe staples.

2. The Tunic Top

Amanda Brooks says: "A tunic is a short version of a caftan, usually falling just over your hips. Some people can make a tunic work as a minidress, but when in doubt a tunic is most chic and flattering worn over long tailored trousers, capri pants, or jeans." (p. 88)

I say: I love the way a tunic top looks with skinny jeans and flats or boyfriend jeans and heels but my current personal favorite way to wear a tunic (or any tunic length shirt) is with shorts and heels.
I have a personal belief that you can only successfully emphasize one sexy body part at a time. A plunging neckline looks classiest with long sleeves; whereas, a sleeveless turtleneck renders the shoulders uniquely alluring. Likewise, I think bare legs become totally mesmerizing when the rest of the body is more or less completely covered. During the warmer months, a tunic is your most realistic way to pull off this look because other long-sleeved tops will almost certainly be too hot. It's one of my current favorites.

3. The Caftan

Amanda Brooks says: "It is an incredibly useful piece of clothing...if they work for you, you can wear them all the time" (p. 88).

I say: If I am ever pregnant, expect to see me in a caftan every day until that damn baby is born.

4. Bohemian Prints

Amanda Brooks says: "Bohemian prints have achieved classic status as far as I'm concerned. I'm thinking of paisley, tapestry, romantic florals, basically anything that makes you think of the 60s or 70s (but forget the psychedelics)" (p.89).

I say: I love, love, love bohemian prints. Something about them drives me absolutely wild and I cannot seem to get sick of them.

I could stare at this Tory Burch dress for DAYS.

Here is Gisele Bundchen wearing my favorite bathing suit. This woman could sell me anything.

5. Frye Boots

Amanda Brooks says: "Frye boots are very authentically 70s college coed. You have to be kind of a tomboy to pull these off. They're not the most feminine shape" (p. 91).

I say: I am not a tomboy but I'm determined to pull these off someday.
6. Bohemian Jewelry (last but certainly not least)

Amanda Brooks says: "Whatever else you're wearing, adding a few long necklaces, chunky rings, dangly earrings, or bangle bracelets will give you an instant bohemian feeling" (p. 92).

I say: Absolutely. There is nothing I love more in the world than bangle bracelets and their ability to completely turn the mood of an otherwise dull outfit. They are my all time favorite type of jewelry. If I have a signature look, bangles are part of it.

(Me in Ocean Ciy, 2006 - wearing some of my favorite bangles).

Pants! What is everyone's vote on the boyfriend jeans?

1.

I got my Alladin pants!
Here is a picture with better lighting:

2.

These would be work pants. Not 100% sure what I think of them. They are slightly snug but not so much that I think it would be worth it to get the next larger size. They are 100% silk and obviously this color would stain easily sooooo they aren't necessarily the most practical. I'm a fan of the cut. I think it's really different. Very fashion forward.

3.

Boyfriend Jeans Option 1

4.

Boyfriend Jeans Option 2 (which will probably win)

5.

Boyfriend Jeans Option 3 (same jeans as above in a larger size)

6.

Boyfriend Jeans Option 4
(also a possibility, the only problem is that - though all these jeans were inexpensive - these are the only ones that really look cheap)

7.

Boyfriend Jeans Option 5

8.

These jeans are French Connection and I inherited them free of charge. Unfortunately, they don't really fit me correctly :(

Things I love: Trick clothes

I got this at The Limited last September. It is a dress but it looks like it's a high-waisted skirt being worn with a short-sleeved button down. It tricks you!

Not sure if you can tell that the top part is gray and white striped.

Shopping Expedition

Today I went to Anthropologie and the mall. My budget was supposed to begin May 1st but it turns out it's going to begin May 3rd...

I went into Anthropologie looking for these pants:

I like these pants because I like to pretend I'm Aladdin and I live in Agrabah. Unfortunately, they don't have them in stock yet. I tried on a bunch of super cute stuff but exercised a lot of restraint. The only thing I bought is this cream silk top, which was marked down to 50% of the original price. I just ate a huge dinner and my resident photographer is studying for her AP Gov exam so I decided to pull the picture from the website instead of taking a picture of myself in it but, take my word for it, this top looks great on me:
Update: I think this top may actually be "matte silk" rather than "cream silk". Not 100% certain what the difference is.
Then I went to the mall where my first stop was The Limited. I don't always love the styles at The Limited but I think their clothes are pretty well made. It's a good place to get dress pants. I got these linen pants because I'll be able to wear them to work in the summer when it is hot, hot, hot linen time:
They are longer on me than they are on the model (surprise.) so I will be able to wear heels with them, which will make them look dressier.

I also got this cardigan:

And this "Persian top" (don't know why it's called a "Persian top"):
I haven't tried it on yet but I was inspired to buy it because I'm about to read Amanda Brooks' chapter on Bohemian style. I think this will be cute with denim shorts and heels.

Next I went to New York & Company where I needed to return an ugly top that I accidentally bought. I turns out that everything in the entire store was 50% off so I bought a bunch of things from their "Red Label Collection". The stuff in the Red Label Collection is more stylish than the rest of the stuff in the store but, in most cases, I don't think the quality of the pieces is really that much better so normally I think it's really overpriced. But for 50% off, I found that I could be persuaded...

"Cocoon" is going to be a big silhouette for fall 2010. There were a lot of cocoon coats featured during fashion week this past fall but it didn't catch on in a mainstream way like motorcycle jackets did. I think it will be back with a vengeance in September. I really like this top but it's 100% polyester so I wouldn't be inclined to pay $46 for it. However, for $23 I'll take it:

(P.S. this picture doesn't really do justice to the top; you can't really see the shape of it.)

I also bought this super long cardigan because I have a forever love affair with long cardigans for some reason:

I bought this tunic dress but I haven't tried it on yet and I somehow doubt that I'm going to like the way it looks on me so it may end up going back. Update: This is definitely going back:


And I also bought these "boyfriend jeans" because I've been wanting jeans like this but I didn't want to spend a lot of money because I doubt it's going to be a long-lived trend and it definitely isn't the most flattering trend. But as with low-rise jeans before them, after something like this gets past a certain point of popularity, your brain sort of gets warped so that the item's popularity completely crowds out your concept of how good or bad it looks on you. Luckily, everyone else around you is probably suffering from the same lapse in judgment so no one will realize how stupid you actually looked until you look at pictures 5+ years later.

Part of me loves this look and part of me hates it. The cut of the jeans is inherently unflattering to the female form but what I do like about it is the incongruity of wearing slouchy jeans like this with really girly heels. I don't think boyfriend jeans work as well with flats and they definitely don't work at all with sneakers or any kind of shoe that could be considered unisex but with heels, I think it's a cool look.
Update: it turns out the jeans pictured here are not actually the jeans I bought. So I'm taking the ones I bought back but maybe I'll try to get these.

That's it for now! Budget starts tomorrow!

(Images copyrighted by anthropologie.com, thelimited.com, and nyandcompany.com - don't sue me!)

Saturday, 05-01-10

Here is what KND wore to dinner at Christopher's on Saturday night. Her dress is from Victoria's Secret and her shoes are also from Unisa (the mysterious company that for reasons unknown only sells it's shoes at Piperlime and DSW).
This VS dress is very handy. I have it in black. You can do a lot with it: dress it up, dress it down, wear it on the beach, wear it out to dinner. It's a pretty good basic to have in your wardrobe.

Here is what LBK wore to dinner. Her dress is from a boutique in Soho that she doesn't remember the name of her. Her shoes are Ralph Lauren and her bag is Gucci. Her earrings are from Laila Rowe. She always looks cute, cute, cute.

Here is what I wore to dinner and out to Manayunk. Obviously, all of my billions of regular readers will recongize my new Kate Spade bag. My jean shorts are from New York & Company - that store is sooooooo hit or miss and a lot of their stuff is absolute junk but I really like these shorts. This will be the third summer I've worn them, it's always nice to get so much wear out of something so inexpensive. My top is from the Gap, I got it at the end of last summer. My shoes made by Franco Sarto. I love these pumps so much that I also bought them in nude and am considering buying them in brown suede.

Here is a close-up:

Here is what Hannah wore out in Manayunk. Hannah is always super well dressed. She has a fashion blog too. I actually 100% stole her idea. I'm a big thief. She could sue me!
Not sure where her dress is from but, since I'm a compulsive online shopper, I think I may recognize her boots as Steve Madden. Her bag is Kate Spade. Here's a close-up:


Lots of fun was had by all and everyone looked very fashionable. The end!

Outfit I wore to work on friday.

Outfits that Barb Wears

Picture #1 features Barb in the outfit she wore to work on Friday. Only I made her put on my Jessica Simpson slingbacks because I thought they would be more complimentary than the sandals she was wearing.

The skirt is by Elie Tahari - I like it a lot, a lot. Not sure where the top is from but I think it's a great cut - very flattering.

Picture #2 features Barb in the outfit she wore to her program on Thursday night. I believe her suit is Ann Taylor. Her blouse is cream silk. Of cream silk, Amanda Brooks says "a cream silk blouse is one of the most useful and enduring things you can have in your closet" (p. 37). Notice that she has the same green, Nine West, crocodile-print pumps that I do.

4-29-2010

Today I had a pretty busy, long day. I had a 7:30 meeting, which I dressed up for but at 4:15, when I realized that I was going to be at work for at least another hour and a half, I sort of snapped and I changed into gym clothes even though I wasn't planning on going to the gym. So I don't have a picture of my fancy meeting outfit. But these are the shoes I wear with my gray Ann Taylor "meeting dress" and my black Calvin Klein "meeting dress".

A "meeting dress" is a fake category of dress which I made up to denote a dress that you can wear with a blazer and wear to a meeting. It's slightly less dressy than an actual suit but it's still more dressy than "business casual".

Back to the shoes:

High, high heels are one of the only "sexy" things you can get away with in a work environment. The plainer the rest of the shoe, the higher the heel can be without it looking inappropriate. The rest of these shoes are about as plain as it can get and the heel is pretty much the highest I'd consider wearing (about 4.25").

But I want to be clear: I don't wear them because I want to be sexy. I wear them because I want to be a ferocious amazon woman. Heels are a power trip! Until you fall on your face...but I usually don't do that anymore...

They are from some new off shoot of the Jessica Simpson brand called "JS by Jessica Simpson". I can't find any online explanation as to what this new branch is all about. Not sure if she is trying to go for a "Steven by Steve Madden" approach? That "spin off" has been very successful and "Boutique 9 by Nine West" also seems to be doing well. I'm a fan of the "slightly better quality" brand offshoots because you can usually find the designs from these lines on websites such as endless.com and shoes.com for nearly the same prices as the shoes from the central brand. It's only in stores that they are noticeably more expensive. Contrarily, I really, really don't like "Madden Girl", which is the only brand offshoot I'm aware of whose niche is producing shoes that are noticeably less well made than the original brand's shoes.

Anyhoo, these shoes are by Jessica Simpson just like 75% of the rest of my boots and pumps. I've really got to talk to that girl - I think it's high time she gave me an endorsement deal.

4-28-2010 - Take 2!

Tonight I had drinks with Carla and Allyson. Obviously they both have killer style (see the last picture).

Here is what I wore. Thank you to my stellar photographer!

Blazer: The Gap
Shell: Ann Taylor Loft
Crops: Ann Taylor Loft
Sandals: Jessica Simpson
Bangles: Ross Simons
Earrings: Ross Simons
Bag: Arcadia

I was probably overly summer-y for the actual weather but I am sick to death of cold weather clothing!

I get compliments on these Jessica Simpson sandals every time I wear them. Believe it or not, I got them at Marshall's. They were on sale for $17.99. It does seem surprising that shoes this cute could be marked down so low but it makes more sense when you consider that it was the Marshall's in the Maris Grove shopping center. I'm not sure I see Jessica Simpson as the shoe brand of choice amongst the Maris Grove residents...